Vitamin makers to settle lawsuit
lawsuit in the US, in a continuing crackdown on vitamin
price-fixing, the Financial...
Six global vitamin producers have agreed to pay $335m to settle a lawsuit in the US, in a continuing crackdown on vitamin price-fixing, the Financial Times reported today. BASF of Germany, one of the companies named in the suit, said late Tuesday it would contribute about $82m of the total settlement amount, excluding legal fees. Other companies involved were Hoffman-La Roche of Switzerland, Aventis of France, and Takeda Chemical Industries, Eisai Co and Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co of Japan. The lawsuit alleges the companies met in secret to fix prices of vitamins from 1989 to 1998. The money will be paid to 22 US states and charities. BASF reiterated on Tuesday that adherence to anti-trust regulations has been fundamental to its business policy. Since mid-1999, the company had installed a new management team for its vitamin business and introduced measures to prevent violations of anti-trust rules, the paper continued.
